Occasionally I am contacted by folks wanting holistic treatment for their pets, but they announce in advance: “Oh, and I’m not going to feed a raw food diet. I’ll do exercises, take Buddy for weekly chiropractic sessions, I’ll give him supplements, but there’s no way I can change his food. I’m a vegetarian/it grosses me out/my husband won’t let me/it’s too expensive/time-intensive/complicated….” The list is endless. Unfortunately, asking your dog’s body to run and function normally and get over symptoms of illness (a.k.a. repair itself) while feeding a highly processed dry or canned food is unrealistic. Even if the package has claims such as “Organic! Human-grade! All natural!” you need to know that the FDA does not evaluate these claims when it comes to pet food. That means that anybody can manufacture a pet food and label it “organic” and “human-grade,” and it may or may not be those things. Even if the food is organic and human-grade, it is still very processed. This is like the difference between grocery-store brand mac and cheese and super-gourmet mac and cheese. It is all extremely processed and mac and cheese is not really a healthy meal for anyone. Nutrition is the foundation of health. The folks who refuse to use nutritional supplements or give homeopathic remedies but are willing to feed a raw, species-appropriate diet will still have pets that are healthier than those who are willing to do everything BUT feed raw.